MICROPUMP WITH IMPROVED PRIMING

摘要

The micropump comprises a silicon wafer (22), glass wafers (2, 24) and a control element (26). The wafer (22) is machined to define an inlet valve (36), a pump chamber (34) and an outlet valve (48). The inlet valve (36) comprises a membrane (40) defining an upstream compartment (38) and a downstream compartment (62), an orifice (42) and a sealing ring (46) surrounding this orifice. The orifice (42) is pierced at a location in such a way that, during the priming of the micropump, the fluid arriving in the downstream compartment reaches a specific and unique part (60) of the downstream compartment wall before reaching other parts of the wall. The fluid is then propelled along the wall on both sides of the part (60) by pushing the air away ahead of it and thus guaranteeing that no air bubble can be formed in the downstream compartment.